Sometimes I forget I have an oven and how easy it is to roast veggies. If you’re ever stumped as to what to do with your veggies, and you’re feeling lazy (as I usually am), all you need is some olive oil, herbs, garlic, and salt and pepper, and you have a super tasty, easy, and healthy meal. I liked the combination of sage, oregano, rosemary, and scallions, but you can mix and match whatever other herbs you want. Thyme and parsley would be good also. I threw some Daiya cheese on top to add some creaminess. The result: deliciousness, with minimal ingredients.

Veggies (use more or less, depending on what you like)

2 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch wedges

2 small carrots, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups cauliflower florets

Seasoning

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped scallions

1 tsp fresh chopped sage

1 tsp fresh chopped oregano

1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

sprinkle of Daiya mozzarella (optional)

Preheat oven to 450°. Toss the veggies with the seasoning, making sure to coat them all, and place in a roasting dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then add Daiya mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Winter’s made me super lazy about cooking lately and I’ve been stuck in a rut of making my favorite staples over and over again. But having recently joined a new food coop in the neighborhood, I have all this yummy produce and was inspired by the fresh herbs I saw yesterday and decided to get off my lazy butt and make a stew! This is a variation on my good old black bean recipe, but made a little heartier with sweet potatoes and greens, and with an herby kick. Perfect for a cold wintery night!

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Collards Stew (serves about 8)

usual black beans recipe, minus the dry oregano and adding to the pot 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed, and 1 more cup of water

Plus

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

2 tsp chopped fresh rubbed sage

3-4 leaves collard greens, chopped

When the beans are soft, add the red wine vinegar, sage, oregano, and collards, and let simmer another 4 minutes until the collards are wilted. Garnish with some fresh oregano and serve with brown rice.

My first attempt at making my own veggie patty! I rarely ever buy vegan burgers because I just can’t find one that isn’t crazy expensive, full of sodium, and that I like enough to spend $6 a box on! These are super hearty and filling so I recommend having them on a lettuce leaf or another type of green instead of bread.

Makes about 6 patties

1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (I pressure cook mine but canned is fine also, just don’t use as much salt)

1 leek, finely chopped

3 small carrots, shredded

5 small white potatoes, peeled and halved

1/4 cup chopped dill

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 clove of minced garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

olive oil

paprika, red pepper, and sea salt to taste

5-6 leaves of kale, chard, or any kind of lettuce you can wrap around the patty

Preheat your oven to 400°. Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes until they’re just starting to get tender. While that’s cooking, start cooking the leeks in a pan with some olive oil over medium-low heat until they start to become translucent, but not browned. When your potatoes are done and have cooled a bit, shred them into a mixing bowl, and add all the remaining ingredients. Toss everything together and form the mixture into 1/2 inch thick patties. Cook them over medium heat in a non-stick skillet until they are browned on both sides. Finally, put the patties in the oven for about 10 minutes until they become crispier and more firm. Wrap some greens around them and enjoy!

Who doesn’t like something yummy stuffed inside something else yummy? I’m a big fan of putting food inside other food. My boyfriend and I joke that we should start a stuffing food truck in New York (since there seems to be a food truck for everything.) For the stuffing, I used a variation of a lemon herbed rice that I used last Thanksgiving to stuff some butternut squash. But this time I added more herbs and some tempeh to make it more hearty. They were almost too pretty to eat!

Tempeh and rice stuffed sweet peppers

For about 5 peppers

5 small sweet bell peppers (I used orange and red because they’re prettier!)

1 cup short grain brown rice

1 16 oz package of tempeh

1/2 cup white button mushrooms, sliced

4 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp soy sauce

3 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp anise seed

1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp paprika

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cups water

Preheat oven to 350º. Bring the water to a boil and add the brown rice and reduce heat to low. Simmer in a pot with a pinch of salt, covered. In the meantime, crumble the tempeh into another pan with water so that it’s almost covered. Boil until the water evaporates and the tempeh is soft. When rice is about halfway cooked (about 15 minutes), add the tempeh and all other ingredients except lemon juice. Cook about another 15 minutes until the rice is soft. Add the lemon juice at the very end.

While that’s cooking, cut the tops off of the peppers and take out the seeds. Brush some olive oil on them and stuff them up! Put them on an oiled baking pan and cook in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until they start to get all wrinkly on the outside and the rice starts to get just a little crispy on top.

We ate them as a main dish with some steamed greens, but I think it’d be a good side dish too if the peppers are smallish.